The Objective of the Church - Greg Laurie Daily Devotion - May 26, 2017

The Objective of the Church

And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:47)

In our culture, we tend to think bigger is better, and we apply that thinking to the church as well. We think the bigger the church, the more successful it is. But that isn’t necessarily true.

You can have a big church yet not have a strong one, because there are a lot of things people can do to draw a crowd. So it isn’t only about being big; it is about being strong. And it is about being biblical.

Then there are those who are critical of large churches. “I hate these megachurches,” they say. “You go in there, and you have to wait for parking.” But let’s think about this for a moment. It would be like saying, “There are two restaurants we can choose from. There is this one restaurant with a line around the block. And there is this other restaurant with no one inside except the employees. Where do you think we should eat?”

Did you ever stop and think that maybe there’s a reason one of those restaurants is empty? Maybe the food in the other place is better than the place without any customers.

Sometimes a large church or a lot of people can mean there is something they are getting out of it. It can mean they are being fed there. My objective never has been to have a large church; it always has been to have a biblical church and a strong church. We always have felt that we should leave the growth up to God. In and of itself, there is no virtue in being small.

Not every church will be a large church, but every church should be a growing church. The objective of the church is to be as faithful as we can be to what God has called us to be. Because on that final day, Jesus won’t say, “Well done, good and successful servant. By the way, how many numbers were you running?”

Through their hit TV show, Fixer Upper, Chip and Joanna Gaines have won the hearts of Americans, demonstrating that worthless wrecks can be transformed into masterpieces—just like God does with us! In their new book, The Magnolia Story, they talk about life, business, marriage, and faith.

About A New Beginning

Is the end of the world near? What will happen after I die? What is the meaning of my life? You've got questions; Greg Laurie has biblical answers on A New Beginning.

About Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie pastors Harvest Christian Fellowship (one of America's largest churches) in Riverside, California and Harvest Orange County in Irvine, California. He has authored several books including the Gold Medallion Award winner, The Upside Down Church, as well as Losers and Winners, Saints and Sinners and The Best Is Yet to Come. You can find his study notes in the New Believer’s Bible, The Seeker’s Bible, and the Start! Bible.

Host of the television program GregLaurie.tv and the nationally syndicated radio program A New Beginning, Laurie is also the founder and featured speaker for Harvest Crusades — contemporary, large-scale evangelistic outreaches, which local churches organize nationally and internationally — and Harvest America, which offers churches nationwide the opportunity to host a crusade event simultaneously from their own local venues.

Whether speaking or writing, God has gifted Pastor Greg Laurie with the ability to apply biblical principles to current events in a way that is relevant and easily understood by people of all ages, from all walks of life. The trademark of a Greg Laurie sermon, book, or broadcast is his contemporary, yet straightforward style and format. He resides in Southern California with his wife, Cathe.